• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

I don’t have time for that

Published: Tuesday, 24 February 2009

Do you ever think to yourself that you can’t do this? That you’re not smart enough? That you haven’t practised enough? That you’re not ready? That you’re not good looking enough? That people won’t like you anyway? That you don’t know what to do? That people will think you’re weird? That you’re going to fail? That you’re going to disappoint someone? That you’re going to embarrass yourself? That you’re wasting everyone else’s time? That you’re not important enough? That he-said, she-said, and hence that means that he-thinks, she-thinks? That the conversations in your mind go round and round in circles?

We have all these conversations going on in our minds all the time. We don’t think we’re good enough, we think of how we screwed up last time, we think of all the decisions we make based on our past activities, we think of what other people think of us… But, do you ever stop and think: what am I actually thinking about? And is it actually helping me?

Because if it’s not helping you achieve what you want to achieve, then give it up. If saying to yourself that you can’t do something is not going to help you get something done, give it up. If you’re letting what other people may think about you affect your actions, then give it up. For in the infinite wisdom of Dr. Suess: Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

When the Fonz was younger and attending lots and lots of auditions, he would see lots of guys who were taller than him, more good-looking, and who seemed so much more accomplished. Instead of letting it affect him and his performance, he would say to himself, “I don’t have time for that thought,” and not think about it anymore. He usually got the part.

What are you thinking about? Is it worth your time?

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Daily plan

    My most productive days, the days I enjoy the most, and the ones that inspire me the most are the days where I have an extensive pre-written to-do...

  • It’s not you

      If your teacher comments on your work and tells you it can be better; it’s not you, it’s your work.   If the person behind the counter snaps at you...

  • Aipoly launches!

    We launched Aipoly two days before CES 2016, where we were given a booth for free, as one of five winners of the first CEA Foundation "Technology...

  • Your work is never done

    When I started Robogals, I thought going to schools and teaching girls robotics should get more to choose physics, chemistry and advanced maths;...

  • Hardy Group interview

    The Hardy Group invited me to speak with them about healthcare, robotics and leadership.  Here I am riffing about those topics!

  • Networking effectively

    I meet people all the time. In the past it was at entrepreneurship networking events when I was starting up Nudge.  Then, it was at engineering...

  • Another context

    If you're over your university studies. If you're not looking forward to taking a week out of your life and attending a conference. If you don't...

  • Phoenix, Arizona

    I love exploring new cities! So I was super thrilled to visit Phoenix in Arizona, and speak at ASQ’s Lean and Six Sigma Conference as their opening...

  • What's in a name?

    From August 2009 to August 2011, I was the "Founder and Director of Robogals Global".  Before that, my title was "Founder", and we hadn't created...

  • Reasons

    Why, excuses, rationale, justifications, explanations, verbal diarrhoea, reasons, etc. In the end, the myriad and infinite possibility of reasons...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top